Windows 7

I installed Windows 7 last week. All seems to have gone smoothly (so far). I was advised by the Upgrade Advisor software to uninstall iTunes first, so I did that. After the upgrade completed I reinstalled iTunes. This failed a couple of times until I ran the install executable “as Administrator”.

My graphics card driver needed an upgrade – also identified by the the Upgrade Advisor – so I downloaded and installed the latest one. This said that it was not certified for Windows 7 but it seems to work fine.

My Printer (Lexmark 4650) stopped working too. I downloaded the new drivers but these made no difference. So I uninstalled it, and the full Lexmark suite, rebooted and then re-installed. After I had put in the wireless network key it was running just fine again. I had to connect it via USB as when doing the first install for the software.

Everything else seems to run fine. Sleep mode is quicker both to sleep and to wake again. The wife likes the “themes” used for screen wall paper. We are using the Great Britain set at the moment. It cycles between Tower Bridge, Stonehenge, The cliffs of Dover, Tintagel castle, etc.

What I've been doing today

I went to get a blood sample taken for my cholesterol test. It is supposed to be below 5mmol/l according to my GP. However it appears that my family suffer from familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH). So that means I don't have much chance of bringing it down.
I've been on a low fat/low cholesterol diet for 6 months and have increased my exercise levels. This has had a good effect on my weight: I've lost 13 pounds so far since January. However living on oats and carrots may not be giving me the stamina of a racehorse on its own.

Basically I've been eating a diet low in cholesterol and fat and rich in fruits (apples), vegetables (carrots), lean meat, fish and olive oil. Oats are supposed to remove LDL (bad) cholesterol from the system so I eat Oatibix or Optivita for breakfast and take plant sterols in capsules. The "big" Oatibix taste awful unless you cover them with sugar - which sort of defeats the object. However the mini ones with sultanas and apple are nice (bitesize). They don't go soggy so fast either. Optivita is quite nice too. Again I prefer the version with raisins to the "berry" one. The berries go all soggy and mushy in the bowl. I buy the plant sterols online - my sister in law recommended a company. I used to drink the yoghurt drinks with them in, but found I could buy a month's supply of capsules for £8 when this would get me a week's yoghurts.

I've managed the moderate consumption of red wine with no problem. This is supposed to reduce the damaging effects of LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) and increases HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol).

It is very important to stop smoking if you have high cholesterol or a risk of it. Smoking significantly increases the risk of a serious heart condition in patients with very high cholesterol levels. Luckily I don't smoke anyway, so this was an easy one.

An active lifestyle and physical exercise strengthen the heart and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. I try to walk every day or do some other physical exercise.

The phlebotomist had to have three goes at drawing blood because muggins here had forgotten to drink loads of water before going to the surgery. She managed to get some out of my arm just above the wrist in the end though. The results are due on Monday or Tuesday.

I downloaded the new iTunes before I left for the surgery and left this updating the new "genius" feature while I was out. This seems to work just fine and probably better than the Nutsie side bar that I had been using to spice up my music. There is a new version of Nutsie too, so I've downloaded that too.

I walked to the surgery and back, so that's 4 miles today according to the odometer on my phone. Nice stroll through the Hogmoor Enclosure, cobwebs on the bushes looking very nice. I should have brought a camera with me.

Back home again, nice and snug with the rain hammering down now. A couple of companies are looking interested in seeing me for interview as well so that's all good news.